ABA conference shares renewed optimism

Sanjeevi JAYASURIYA

The Asian Bankers' Association Annual General Meeting is a forum to shape policies and is the lobbying voice for the Asia Pacific Region.

Sri Lanka was able to host the first ever conference to be held in South East Asia and this was an ideal opportunity to showcase the country's potential not only in the financial sector, but in overall socio-economic spheres, Asian Bankers' Association (ABA) Chairman Rajendra Theagarajah said.

The event provided an opportunity to share with ABA members the renewed optimism and enthusiasm of the Sri Lankan people on the country's future, he said at the special press conference to mark the end of two-day ABA gathering under the theme "Asia taking the lead in the global economy; A bankers' perspective" held yesterday in Colombo.

The technical deliberations and annual symposium held was an opportunity for regular networking and we had excellent deliberations, he said.

The US and Euro Zone is going through tough times and the centre of attention is on Asia. There is huge potential outside Asia in places such as Africa to harness productivity reserves and for strategic investments. However, it is important to have in place structural readiness to successfully face the challenges of climatic changes, the ABA Chairman said.

"There is a huge opportunity for the banking industry in Asia to capture a wider market base as its penetration is only 50 percent at present. It is important to manage financial infusion and mobile phones will play a key role and be an ideal platform in this regard," Policy Advocacy Committee Chairman Dilshan Rodrigo said.

"The policy proposals need to be conducive in the Asian context and assessing Asian banks' adherence to Basel 2 and their readiness for the new proposals under Basel 3 provided valuable insight for the participants. The information on promoting preparedness for operational and severe event risk among banks in the Asia Pacific Region was timely," Rodrigo said.

The gathering was held with the key objectives of exploring and understanding the responsibilities of Asia in the global economy and its leading role in the future, to exchange ideas covering the challenges and opportunities facing Asian banks in their emergence as global market player and to provide a forum for Asian banks to discuss international regulatory standards and the way forward.

The two-day conference was attended by 45 banks representing 14 countries.

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